Issyk-Kul South Shore, Kyrgyzstan Experiential Travel Guide: 20 Ideas to Get Started

If you travel to Kyrgyzstan, it’s almost impossible to miss Issyk-Kul, the second largest alpine lake in the world (after Bolivia’s Lake Titicaca). But Lake Issyk-Kul is large with two long shores, each a different personality. So where to focus your effort? We suggest the South Shore and this Experiential Travel Guide explains why with 20 things to do, see and eat in the South Shore of Lake Issyk-Kul.

For many, the temptation is to take the highway along the northern shore directly from Bishkek to Karakol. But if immersing yourself in unspoiled nature while engaging with Kyrgyz tradition and nomadic culture is what you are after, then we’d recommend taking the southern route to an area known affectionately as “The South Shore.”

The South Shore area of Lake Issyk-Kul stands unique, aided by a twist of history. As the Soviet Union developed other parts of Kyrgyzstan and the region, it more or less left the South Shore untouched, to its own. It wasn’t commercialized for tourism or built up for industry as the northern shore had been. As adherence to traditional Kyrgyz culture was discouraged and considered backward in the rest of the country during the Soviet era, many pockets of Kyrgyz life and culture along Issyk-Kul’s South Shore remained as they were. In a way, protected. A visit today feels as though you are experiencing living history.

We’ve visited the South Shore a couple of times over the last ten years. Each time we have, it has yielded some our most memorable experiences in the country, even inspiring one of our earliest posts, entitled A Perfect Day in Kyrgyzstan.A wise shepherd we met on our first trip to Lake Issyk-Kul Southern Shore.
If local, real, and authentic Kyrgyzstan is what you are after, then spend a few days along the Issyk-Kul Southern Shore between Kyzyl-Tuu village in the west and Barskoon in the east towards Karakol.

And here’s what to look for when you go.

1. Sleep in a Yurt Under the Stars

During our first visit to Kyrgyzstan in 2007, we visited the South Shore of Issyk-Kul and spent the first night there in a yurt. The panorama: the red rocks of Manjyly in the foreground, the peaks of the Tian Shan mountains in the distance. The skies that day were crystal clear, there was little else around to distract us in our peace and silence. We were hooked.

Almaluu Yurt Camp on the South Shore of Lake Issyk-Kul.
If you think that sleeping in a yurt means roughing it, think again. Not only are yurts supplied with ample blankets and bedding, but they are stylish and colorful inside. These days, you can even find yurts with a bathroom and sauna attached.

Behind the scenes somsa-making in a yurt kitchen.Yurt camps along the South Shore. All include home-cooked meals:

Altyn-Bulak Yurt Camp, Manjyly-Ata: This is the yurt camp we originally stayed at in 2007 and it's still in operation. Beautiful setting amidst the red rocks with ample space to wander and explore.

Bel Tam Yurt Camp: A handful of yurts set just back from the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul so you have easy access to the beach if you want to take a dip. We haven't slept here, but we did enjoy a delicious home-cooked lunch served up by the sisters who operate the camp.

Almaluu Ethno-Village: A yurt camp in Ton (Tong) village about 6km outside of Bokonbaevo offering standard yurts and VIP yurts with attached private bathrooms. Some even come with an attached sauna. The latter are especially impressive. Since Almaluu has equipped several of its yurts with heaters, they are also available in the winter months. The food served here is also top notch and fresh, much of it grown in the nearby gardens.

Meiman Ordo Yurt Camp: This is the newest yurt camp in Tong village outside of Bokonbaevo. We haven't visited or stayed there yet, but have heard good things from others who have.

Jaichy Yurt Camp: For sleeping in a yurt up high on the jailoo (high pasture) about 27km from Bokonbaevo with panoramic views of the Teskey Ala-Too mountains, give Jaichy Yurt Camp a try. We haven't stayed here ourselves, but have met the owner several times. In addition to offering accommodation, Jaichy Yurt Camp also offers horse back riding, trekking and other outdoor activities. They can also organize a local kok boru (goat polo) game if you so desire. The owner also grows his own organic food at the garden and his wife can offer cooking courses/demonstrations.

2. Learn Everything You Wanted to Know about Yurts but were Afraid to Ask

The village of Kyzyl-Tuu, between Bishkek and Bokonbaevo has fast become known as the epicenter of yurt craftsmanship in Kyrgyzstan. It’s THE place to have your yurt built. People from all over the world place their yurt orders here, as local craftsmen are known to construct well-made yurts that can last as long as 100 years. Several families work together for almost a month to build all that’s needed to assemble the yurt, including the wooden frame, felt covers, and decorative interior shyrdaks.Understand the genius behind yurt design.
Learning how the wood is treated and shaped to create the various segments of a yurt frame is far more engaging than it sounds. The hours we spent with Turusbek Kalykov, a fourth-generation yurt craftsman, helped us appreciate the genius and timelessness behind Kyrgyz yurt design and construction. Traditionally, all the components of a yurt were traditionally intended to be carried on the back of a single camel (nowadays, the back of a truck), and are designed for assembly without the need of nails or screws.

How to do it: You can book a yurt-building tour with Destination South Shore that includes constructing your own yurt together with a team of local yurt-builders, plus tea and snacks afterwards in the yurt you just built.

Hunting with golden eagles, falcons, and hunting dogs, standing archery, archery on horseback – all with a cinematic backdrop. Salbuurun, as the tradition is referred to, is intended to demonstrate how Kyrgyz nomads once moved and hunted across the mountains. The knowledge of these techniques and the culture embedded within them is kept alive through the Salbuurun Federation, based on the South Shore of Issyk-Kul.Almas Akunov, founder of the Salbuurun Federation, with his golden eagle.Don't come between a golden eagle and his master.
Archery may look easy from afar, but try your hand at it and you’ll likely develop a whole new respect for the sport. To make matters even more impressive, members of the Salburun Federation take off on horseback, quiver in hand, shooting bullseyes as they gallop across the field.

Respect.An impressive demonstration of archery on horseback by the Salburun Federation.

The founder of the federation, Almas Akunov, learned traditional hunting from his grandfather when he was a child. However, Soviet ways discouraged such ethnic expression. Since Kyrgyz independence, Almaz has focused his efforts in researching and learning the traditional methods of archery, hunting with eagles and dogs, nomadic dress, and the call of drumbeats. Talk with Almaz and you’ll find his passion palpable and his interest in passing along this revived culture and knowledge to future Kyrgyz generations genuine.

Although some local guest houses and yurt camps can organize a golden eagle demonstration for you on their premises, we suggest going with the Salbuurun Federation in Bokonbaevo for a more encompassing experience that includes not only a golden eagle demonstration, but also how the eagles work together with taigan dogs and hunters on horseback in traditional Kyrgyz hunting.

How to do it: Destination South Shore organizes a Salbuurun Experience (45 min-1 hour) with master hunters and experts from the Salbuurun Federation. Get in touch with them to find out when the next one is taking place so you can join a group.

4. Release your Inner Child and Roam Skazka Canyon

From sunrise to sunset, the various layers, landscapes and canyon formations along the southern shore of Issyk-Kul run the eyes around the color wheel. One of the best locations to experience this color and contour is Skazka Canyon (aka, Fairytale Canyon), just east of Bokonbaevo.Skazka Canyon, wandering and wondering.
Climb to the top of the first canyon summit for a panoramic view of red cones set agains the deep blues of Issyk-Kul and surrounding peaks of the Tian Shan. It makes for a good selfie spot, too.A winter selfie.How to get to Skazka:Many local accommodation providers offer half- and full-day tours that include Skazka Canyon. Otherwise, you can hop on one of the mashrutkas (minibus, shared public transport) that run along the main road, and get off at the service road that leads to Skazka. Taxis are also easy to hire from Bokonbaevo and a round-trip fare is 1,500 Som, including waiting time.

5. Take a Dip in the 2nd Largest Alpine Lake in the World, Lake Issyk-Kul

With a spread of snow-covered Tian Shan Mountain peaks surrounding it, the setting of Lake Issyk-Kul is dramatic. Although the northern side of the lake is more well-known for swimming and spas in towns like Cholpon-Ata, the lake’s southern shore features warmer temperatures and more pristine surroundings due to the lack of commercial development and industrialization.

We're not quite brave enough to jump in during winter.
The mineral-filled waters of Issyk-Kul carry purported healing powers. This, along with the presence of underground thermal springs prevents the lake, the second-largest alpine lake in the world, from ever freezing, even in the coldest of Kyrgyz winters.

How to do it: Last time we visited was winter so we didn't go swimming ourselves. However, locals tell us that “Uch Chunkur,” a natural, undeveloped beachfront, is the best place to go swimming. Taxis from Bokonbaevo cost 300 Som ($4.50) for one-way or 600 Som ($9) return where the driver waits for you.

The outside of a yurt may usually features a functional, yet somewhat bland, gray or off-white felt cover. In fact, the Kyrgyz term for a yurt boz üy means, quite literally, “gray home.” However, a yurt interior is where the Kyrgyz show off their best and brightest adornments and decorations. A typical yurt is lined with shyrdaks covering both the floors and walls. Not only do these heavy felt wool rugs keep you warm and lend a cozy feel, but they are visually beautiful, their bright colors and designs harkening of ancient peoples who lived from — and together with — nature. You'll also find tush-kiyiz, embroidered decorations into which it was said that grandmothers would stitch they dreams they had for their grandchildren.We're not quite brave enough to jump in during winter.
The designs you’ll see carry specific meanings. Shyrdaks from different regions in Kyrgyzstan feature different symbols and colors to represent a shared story, their local history. Whenever a shyrdak strikes you, whether in a yurt or a store, ask the owner or salesperson whether there’s a special meaning behind the symbols and colors. You’ll appreciate the beautiful design even more.A shyrdak in the making at Golden Thimble, Bokonbaevo.Where to shop and learn more about shyrdaks and tushkiz:

Golden Thimble (Altyn Oimok) in Bokonbaevo: Janil Baishova, the founder of the organization, is passionate about learning traditional Kyrgyz handicraft techniques from elder masters and passing these techniques on to younger generations. The shyrdaks produced by Golden Thimble are very high quality and have won awards from UNESCO and other organizations. If you don’t have space for a shyrdak in your luggage, the shop also features plenty of smaller items that are easier to carry. Address:69 Karymshakova Street, Bokonbaevo.

Almaluu Crafts Center (Felt Art) in Bokonbaevo: A wide selection of handmade shyrdaks and other Kyrgyz handicrafts are sold here. An array of traditional herbs and medicines are available for purchase, too. Be sure to go around back to the workshop to see women artisans at work. Address: T. Moldo Street #8, Bokonbaevo.

7. Get to Know and Love the Taigan, the Kyrgyz Hunting Dog

We realize that we may be a bit biased here, but to our minds the Taigan is among the more remarkable hunting dog breeds in the world. At the very least, they are the cutest and friendliest. Aside from their signature curly tails and shaggy ears, Taigans seem to possess a loyalty magnet whereby they attach themselves and literally lean against their masters and friends, as if to say, “Don't worry, I’ve got this. I’m here to protect you.”The taigan, one of our favorite types of dogs now.
The Taigan dog breed bloodline supposedly dates back several thousand years, and is said to be genetically predisposed not to fear wolves. We can’t be certain about this claim, but they are impressive to watch when they are on the hunt (or hunting demonstration, as it were), particularly when teamed with a golden eagle.

8. Drink the Healing Waters at Manjyly-Ata, the Valley of the Sacred Springs

Do you have stomach problems? Bad nerves? Anxiety? Then take thee to to Manjyly-Ata to what is known as the Valley of the Sacred Springs, a pilgrimage site whose network of natural springs possess all manner of purported healing powers.Snow-covered Tian Shan Mountains as beautiful backdrop for Manjyly-Ata.
Even if healing springs can’t draw you, perhaps the Manjyly-Ata dramatic backdrop of rolling red rock cones and valleys can. As you explore the area – informal hiking paths and marked natural springs — expect to get a little lost, or perhaps purposely take a wrong turn as you find the perfect angle for a photo. From one hill to the next, one healing spring to the next, it’s all part of the fun.

Where to stay: For a full experience, consider spending the night at the Altyn-Bulak Yurt Camp located nearby.

9. Behold, Up Close, a Kyrgyz Cemetery

It might sound odd to put a cemetery on one’s itinerary, but Kyrgyz cemeteries are something truly special. It’s likely that your first encounter will be to see them glide by your roadside field of view as you make your way around Lake Issyk-Kul. At first glance, they look like mysterious sculpture gardens adorned with elaborate miniature yurts and castles set against the backdrop of dramatic hills and mountains. Take a closer look and you’ll realize that this is how local Kyrgyz honor those who’ve passed. Fascinating and beautiful, mausoleums and burial sites in Kyrgyzstan are a testament to the connection between how a culture honors its dead and celebrates the living.A Kyrgyz cemetery. Unusual beauty and peace.

10. Become One of the Family in a Kyrgyz Homestay

As the South Shore naturally develops its tourism, many of the accommodation options are homestays that involve a stay in a Kyrgyz home. These are usually called guest houses.A homestay experience is intimate: as you meet the family, you learn a bit about their day-to-day lives and enjoy their home-cooked meals.

An elaborate spread for tea and lunch at a family home in Kyzyl-Tuu village.Our gracious host in Kyzyl-Tuu, also from a family of yurt-builders.
We have done homestays numerous times throughout Kyrgyzstan and Issyk-Kul South Shore, whether it’s been for an overnight, for a meal, or even for afternoon tea with a local family. It's one of the things that makes traveling in this region unique and feel more personal. You can find a full list of homestays or guest houses in South Shore here.

11. Relish a Candlelight Dinner in a Yurt

Some of the best meals we’ve had in Kyrgyzstan have been in yurts and we firmly believe there is a connection. First, the food is always fresh and homemade. More importantly, perhaps, it has something to do with the colorful, cozy, plush décor of a yurt’s interior that complements the food.Breakfast in a yurt is wonderful, too.
There are few structures whose warmth and color envelop ones senses the way a yurt does. If you have the option for a candlelight dinner in a yurt, take it. It’s perfect. Romantic, too.

12. Take a Kyrgyz Cooking Course

Nomads aren’t typically known for their high cuisine, but that should not put you off from fully exploring the national cuisine of Kyrgyzstan and its regional variations. The reality of Kyrgyz cuisine is that it is traditionally heavy on meat. However, the surrounding regional influences, especially as you head east towards China, introduce a wide range of vegetables, herbs and spices.

Learn how to cook laghman and other Kyrgyz specialties.
Through your travels in Kyrgyzstan, you might become familiar with dishes like beshbarmak or laghman, each with their special hand-made noodles, or manti (dumplings). However, when inquiring about cooking courses, be sure to ask about special dishes like oromo, dymdama, or one of the many tangy shredded carrot and cabbage salads.

13. Imagine the Story Behind the 1,000+ Year-Old Female Balbal

Balbals, ancient stone statues found across Central Asia, still puzzle archeologists and historians. It’s believed that ancient nomadic tribes used them to mark the graves of the elite and village leaders some 1,500 years ago. Experts continue to speculate as to why many of these figures sit cross-legged and hold a tea cup. Some say the cup holds poison on which leaders would swear truth or allegiance.A cup full of poison or tea?Balbal (or Kurgan Stelae) figures are typically male, which makes the female figure found near Tuura-Suu village and museum near Khan-Dobo Citadel especially remarkable. She is believed to have been an ancient female nomadic leader from around 1000 years ago. Here is the location of Kan-Dobo Citadel.

14. Accept Bread from Each Home as a Gesture of Hospitality

One of the traditional offerings of hospitality in Kyrgyzstan is bread, often brought out when you depart a family home. A round of bread is typically broken into small pieces and placed on a tray. As a guest, you take a small piece, one that symbolizes your acceptance of the good wishes of the host for your journey.Wishing guests good health and journey with an offering of bread.
As you take bread, do not feel compelled to take the whole loaf, for even a very small piece will do to seal this gesture of hospitality. And if you are allergic to gluten, just take a piece and tuck it away in your hand.

15. Take a Morning Hike up to Shatyly Viewpoint

After one of our workshops in Bakonbaevo, Alybek Osmoev from CBT Bokonbaevo, pointed up to one of the hills surrounding the town. “From up there you have a 360-degree panoramic view of Lake Issyk-Kul and the nearby mountains. It only takes about an hour to walk up. Want to go early tomorrow morning?” he asked.

Getting ourselves out of bed at the crack of dawn the next morning did not really sound pleasant, but the draw and curiosity of this panoramic view won over. Turns out that was absolutely the right decision.Early morning light on our trek up to Shatyly viewpoint outside of Bokonbaevo.
Although it's possible to do this short trek (4km round trip) any time of day, we thought the early morning light was rather special. This also allowed us to get up and back into Bakonbaevo by breakfast as we had a full day planned ahead of us. Alternatively, bring your breakfast with you and enjoy it at the panoramic viewpoint.Celebrating at the top with Alybek and Baatyrbek, our local guides and friends.

On the way down, with a view of Lake Issyk-Kul and the snow-covered Tian Shan Mountains.

How to do it: The start of the trek is about 11km from Bokonbaevo town so you'll need to arrange a transfer to get out there and bring you back to town. CBT Bokonbaevo organized our transportation and guided us. It's also possible to do this trip by horseback. It took us about 2-2.5 hours total to get to the viewpoint and back to Bokonbaevo, but if you have more time you can keep walking past the viewpoint and extend it into into a half-day or full-day trek. Alybek at CBT knows all the local treks in the area. You can learn about other treks in the area here.

16. Visit the Bokonbaevo Babushka and Cure What Ails You

A visit to a local babushka (traditional healer) had never been in our itinerary. However, when talking with some Kyrgyz people about traditional medicine, we heard about the local belief regarding the connection between the placement of one’s heart and prior traumas or shocks in one’s life. We then learned that female healers – known affectionately as babushkas (literally, grandmothers) – are believed to aid or cure these afflictions. Most Kyrgyz towns and villages, including Bokonbaevo, are home to several.

After we arrived for our appointment, the babushka employed a combination of stones and what looked like a miniature leather whip to draw and cast out evil spirits. Even with all her years, she was a strong woman, one whose careful hands could detect something as insignificant as a few drops of water in her guest’s stomach.

Rather than further describe our session with the babushka, we encourage you to seek out your own experience by asking at your guesthouse whether your host knows of one. Ideally, you’ll have the time and opportunity to visit for multiple sessions, but a single encounter offers a meaningful glance into traditional Kyrgyz medicine, belief and culture. Payment for the treatment is typically by donation.

17. Take a Felt-Making Course and Create Your own Kyrgyz Souvenirs

Inspired by all the shyrdaks and felt you see inside the yurts and homes? Then try your hand at felt crafstmanship yourself at a handicraft workshop in Bokonbaevo.Colorful designs and patterns of Kyrgyz handicrafts.

How to do it:

Altyn Oimok (Golden Thimble) offers felt-making courses in the summertime in their courtyard. Janil Baishova, the founder, will take you through the process of how wool is selected and processed, and turned into felt. Then, you’ll make your own pillow mat or placemat with some of the symbols and colors from the traditional shyrdak. Contact Destination South Shore to arrange a Shyrdak or other traditional Kyrgyz handicrafts workshop, or to find out when the next one is taking place so you can join a group.

Almaluu Ethno-Village & Handicraft offers felt-making courses at its crafts shop in Bokonbaevo town. You can spend the night at its yurt camp just outside town and then learn about how all the decorations in your yurt were made at the handicrafts course. Contact Nuripa, the manager, by mobile (+996 779 854098) or email to learn more or book a course. Prices range from 500 Som ($7.50) for the “Shyrdak” course or 300 Som ($4.50) for the simpler “Ala kiyiz” felt carpet course.

18. Learn What an Elechek (Traditional Kyrgyz Headwear) Has to Do with Posture and Pregnancy

One of the lessons of traditional Kyrgyz nomadic culture is the importance of items serving multiple uses. Since nomads carry everything with them, packing light was key, multi-purpose the watchword.Preparing an elechek is an elaborate yet delicate process.
Consider the elechek, a traditional form of Kyrgyz headwear. At the Felt Museum in Kyzyl-Tuu village (closed for renovation until 2019), we learned that an elechek begins as a long segment of natural cotton cloth that is then wrapped around a woman’s head fifty times. 50 times! Because wearing an elechek required balance, it was used naturally to improve a woman’s posture. The McGyver trick: if a pregnant nomadic woman goes into labor while out in the fields, the clean cotton cloth of her elechek can be used in child birth and later to swaddle the newborn baby.

Makes modern-day headwear seem a bit one-dimensional.

19. Horseback Ride with Shepherds in the Jailoo (High Pasture)

In summer, shepherds take their sheep, cows, horses, goats and other animals up to the jailoo (high pastures) to enjoy several months of high quality grazing. During this time, Kyrgyz shepherds live a nomadic life as they set up a yurt as a base, ride horseback with their animals to fresh pastures during the day, then return in the evening.You also find a few shepherds with their herds on lower pastures in the winter months, too.
If you take a horseback riding tour into the hills, you’ll not only be surrounded by stunning mountain landscapes, but you might also learn a thing or two from a Kyrgyz shepherd along the way.

20. Breathe Deeply and Take in the Beauty of Where You Are

When we visited the South Shore recently in December, I would exit the back door of Emily Guesthouse in Bokonbaevo each morning and be struck by the simple yet incredible beauty of the mountains that seem to surround this area.Backyard views, Issyk-Kul South Shore

Our Kyrgyz hosts found me odd, when morning after morning in the cold of winter, I would take a series of photos of the backyard where a few pieces of laundry hung, backed by a spread of snow-covered mountains in the distance.

Why?

For me, this span of the South Shore — in its simplicity and its depth — is quintessential Kyrgyzstan.

Disclosure: Our experiences along the South Shore of Lake Issyk-Kul are from a combination of a personal trip that we made years ago and a more recent visit as part of a tourism development project. This latter trip was made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. As always, the thoughts contained herein — the what, the why, and the how — are entirely our own.

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About Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott is a writer, storyteller, speaker and tourism development consultant. She aims to help turn people's fears into curiosity. She harbors an obsession for artichokes and can bake a devastating pan of brownies. You can keep up with her adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And you can learn more about her on the About Page and on LinkedIn.

Thank you, Christine! Kyrgyzstan certainly surprised us during our first visit there almost ten years ago, and continues to do so even after several visits. It’s over 90% mountains, so if you enjoy trekking and the outdoors there’s a ton to do. But, it’s the Kyrgyz culture and its living nomadic history that you still see today that make it so unique.

About Us

We are Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott, the husband-and-wife storytelling team behind Uncornered Market. From the United States, based in Berlin, world-bound. Through our stories, advisory, and speaking we are creating a movement of travelers who live at the intersection of adventure, deep travel and life experiences, and caring for our planet and its people. More than 90 countries later, we are still going...and still married. Read More

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